How to Go Faster in Your Next IRONMAN

Finished your first IRONMAN or 70.3? Now what? Going faster, of course.

Completing an IRONMAN or 70.3 race for the first time is a tremendous achievement. The only catch? For most athletes, the bucket list quickly gets an addition once you get across the line: Now do it again, but faster.

The good news is that there are multiple levers you can adjust to speed up your time. And most of them simply mean adding more structure to your training.

We asked top coaches how IRONMAN first-timers should approach getting faster. Below, their top tips:

1. Geek out on your technique

While this is probably most important for the swim, it certainly won't hurt to become more proficient in all three sports. When getting started, many people simply head to a pool to swim laps, jump on their bikes for a ride and start off with some easy runs. There's a reason the pros look so strong and smooth as they power through the course—they've mastered their technique in all three disciplines. Whether you sign up for lessons or a clinic, or simply do your own research through videos and books, becoming a more efficient swimmer, biker and runner will help you go faster in your next race.

2. Start interval training

If you want to go faster in a race, you need to go even faster in training. Think about it: If you want to average 10 minute miles for a half marathon at the end of your 70.3 race, you're not going to achieve that goal if you can only run a 9:30 mile. (In other words, your goal pace is too close to the fastest you can go, so you're not going to maintain that pace for 13+ miles). The same holds true on the bike and in the water. Intervals are shorter, fast efforts with a specific recovery or rest. Swim programs typically include a lot of interval training, but it should also be an integral part of your bike and run training.

Once again, this is often of most benefit in the pool—but can also be a huge help for cycling and running. Group workouts will not only make you faster by building in intervals and harder efforts, but they will also keep you motivated by the social atmosphere and built-in accountability. Training with others can also help you learn to pace and likely push yourself a little harder in training sessions. In addition to the coaches, you'll also find some experienced mentors who can help you along the way.

A good coach can help you dramatically improve your technique, come up with tailored interval sessions to improve your speed and coordinate your program to ensure you're getting the most out of your training time. Many coaches can help you do all that from a distance, too.

While strength will almost always be trumped by technique (just jump in the pool with a bunch of 11 and 12-year-old age group swimmers sometime—while you are likely much stronger, their impressive technique allows them to swim circles around you), strength training does have it's place in your training. You can certainly improve your bike performance with some added strength, while it's also a great way to address muscle imbalances that can lead to injury. As he nears his 40th birthday, Craig Alexander stresses that strength training has become an important part of his training program as a way to prevent injury. His improved core strength has also helped him maintain his form during the latter stages of the bike and run in races.

6. Use a heart rate monitor or power meter

Many successful IRONMAN and 70.3 competitors don't ever use a heart rate monitor or power meter, but these training tools can help you get the most out of your training time. Used properly, a heart rate monitor will help you work at an appropriate level—making sure your hard workouts will be hard enough, and your recovery sets easy enough to ensure that you're not overtraining.

To get the most out of a heart rate monitor, though, you need to figure out exactly what your various training zones are. While there are lots of formulas that can give you an approximate value for your maximal heart rate, they aren't particularly accurate—especially for fitter athletes. A coach or exercise physiologist can administer specific testing that will give you more accurate numbers.

If faster bike splits are your goal, a power meter can certainly help. They allow you to measure the direct energy you are putting into the pedals, which gives you the ability to pace evenly and to your exact ability for the length of your race (or even during interval training). Racing with power can help not only your bike split, but can leave you with much "fresher" legs for the run as you can avoid spikes in effort and save valuable energy for the last leg.